Sounds to me like a very powerful flashight (torch) with a red filter on it. A 6-cell Maglite can have from 30,000 candlepower, and there are other lights, such as the Maxabeam, which will put out up to 7.5 million candlepower (Maxabeams were sold to the SAS, among others). Slap a red theatre gel on the front.... (Red filters are sold for many flashlight to help preserve the night vision of the user.)

If the thing is about 2 inches across it's not a laser, because I suspect there would be complaints about the power drain if it were.